Novo Nordisk had no confirmed sponsorship for 2018 until late in the piece - My guess is the 5 signed riders already had a contract for 2018 - I understand the team serves a noble cause but surely they should be at CT level.

yaco wrote:Novo Nordisk had no confirmed sponsorship for 2018 until late in the piece - My guess is the 5 signed riders already had a contract for 2018 - I understand the team serves a noble cause but surely they should be at CT level.

Why? They get invites to some races they wouldn't get into if they were CT, they get their jersey on the television and their sponsor's name and all the stuff about diabetes said by commentators. That's why they exist. They don't have the sporting level of most other PCT teams, but they don't really need to.

yaco wrote:Novo Nordisk had no confirmed sponsorship for 2018 until late in the piece - My guess is the 5 signed riders already had a contract for 2018 - I understand the team serves a noble cause but surely they should be at CT level.

Why? They get invites to some races they wouldn't get into if they were CT, they get their jersey on the television and their sponsor's name and all the stuff about diabetes said by commentators. That's why they exist. They don't have the sporting level of most other PCT teams, but they don't really need to.

The team has won one race since they become a PC team - They could be a CT and still get a number of important invites for the sponsor to be happy.

yaco wrote:Novo Nordisk had no confirmed sponsorship for 2018 until late in the piece - My guess is the 5 signed riders already had a contract for 2018 - I understand the team serves a noble cause but surely they should be at CT level.

Why? They get invites to some races they wouldn't get into if they were CT, they get their jersey on the television and their sponsor's name and all the stuff about diabetes said by commentators. That's why they exist. They don't have the sporting level of most other PCT teams, but they don't really need to.

The team has won one race since they become a PC team - They could be a CT and still get a number of important invites for the sponsor to be happy.

You are still treating them as if they are a team with a sponsor that demands results. Winning a race or two is just a nice bonus for them. Appearing in big races and televised races generally is what they have to do to fulfil their purpose and being PCT facilitates that.

well, that's not quite what Sunderland said at the beginning of the season though

“We are in a contract year and we have to get results,” Southerland said regarding the team’s final year of the five-year deal with naming sponsor Novo Nordisk, a multinational pharmaceutical company specializing in diabetes management. “The priority is not on putting riders in the break and being in the top 10, we need visible results this year.”

Sure, in the end they still got a new contract with the sponsor - but it came with significantly less money, so the team won't be able to run a calendar similar as in past years anymore, and their best riders have chosen to retire instead.

search wrote:well, that's not quite what Sunderland said at the beginning of the season though

“We are in a contract year and we have to get results,” Southerland said regarding the team’s final year of the five-year deal with naming sponsor Novo Nordisk, a multinational pharmaceutical company specializing in diabetes management. “The priority is not on putting riders in the break and being in the top 10, we need visible results this year.”

Sure, in the end they still got a new contract with the sponsor - but it came with significantly less money, so the team won't be able to run a calendar similar as in past years anymore, and their best riders have chosen to retire instead.

If their sponsor has decided they want results, they are screwed and the sponsor is on the way out. There simply isn't a big enough pool of type 1 diabetics to draw from and there's nothing they can do to change that other than hope for an outlier talent to drop in their laps.

search wrote:well, that's not quite what Sunderland said at the beginning of the season though

“We are in a contract year and we have to get results,” Southerland said regarding the team’s final year of the five-year deal with naming sponsor Novo Nordisk, a multinational pharmaceutical company specializing in diabetes management. “The priority is not on putting riders in the break and being in the top 10, we need visible results this year.”

Sure, in the end they still got a new contract with the sponsor - but it came with significantly less money, so the team won't be able to run a calendar similar as in past years anymore, and their best riders have chosen to retire instead.

If their sponsor has decided they want results, they are screwed and the sponsor is on the way out. There simply isn't a big enough pool of type 1 diabetics to draw from and there's nothing they can do to change that other than hope for an outlier talent to drop in their laps.

Hence, why dropping to a CT team will provide their riders with a more suitable calendar.

search wrote:well, that's not quite what Sunderland said at the beginning of the season though

“We are in a contract year and we have to get results,” Southerland said regarding the team’s final year of the five-year deal with naming sponsor Novo Nordisk, a multinational pharmaceutical company specializing in diabetes management. “The priority is not on putting riders in the break and being in the top 10, we need visible results this year.”

Sure, in the end they still got a new contract with the sponsor - but it came with significantly less money, so the team won't be able to run a calendar similar as in past years anymore, and their best riders have chosen to retire instead.

If their sponsor has decided they want results, they are screwed and the sponsor is on the way out. There simply isn't a big enough pool of type 1 diabetics to draw from and there's nothing they can do to change that other than hope for an outlier talent to drop in their laps.

Hence, why dropping to a CT team will provide their riders with a more suitable calendar.

Fair enough. My response was based on an assumption that their sponsors must know that regular wins aren't possible, given the narrow pool of athletes they can draw from, and so their current model must be something they are happy to back.

search wrote:well, that's not quite what Sunderland said at the beginning of the season though

“We are in a contract year and we have to get results,” Southerland said regarding the team’s final year of the five-year deal with naming sponsor Novo Nordisk, a multinational pharmaceutical company specializing in diabetes management. “The priority is not on putting riders in the break and being in the top 10, we need visible results this year.”

Sure, in the end they still got a new contract with the sponsor - but it came with significantly less money, so the team won't be able to run a calendar similar as in past years anymore, and their best riders have chosen to retire instead.

If their sponsor has decided they want results, they are screwed and the sponsor is on the way out. There simply isn't a big enough pool of type 1 diabetics to draw from and there's nothing they can do to change that other than hope for an outlier talent to drop in their laps.

After returning from suspension, Chris Froome will announce he was recently diagnosed as a life long type 1 diabetic and find a spot at PC level.